


Unprepared

by profound-boning (farawaystardust)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Autumn, Awkward Castiel, Awkward Dean, Cold Weather, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, First Dates, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, One Shot, Scarves, Strangers, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 08:50:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4913050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/farawaystardust/pseuds/profound-boning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Thank goodness Castiel had had the foresight to dig all of his thicker sweaters and scarves out of storage.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unprepared

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "this stranger on the street corner looks like they're severely unprepared for this cold weather here take my scarf"
> 
> [reference photo](http://ohmysupernatural.tumblr.com/post/35075835778/misha-collins-gishwhes-2012-x)

Over the weekend it had suddenly gotten much colder. Chill clung to the air in the morning and descended swiftly in the evening, signaling the true beginning of fall.

Thank goodness Castiel had had the foresight to dig all of his thicker sweaters and scarves out of storage.

As he stood on the corner, waiting for the WALK signal, he was feeling particularly grateful for the long blue scarf he'd wrapped around his neck as he left the shop. The matching cap on his head was successfully keeping his ears warm, and he was warm enough for a hoodie over his buttoned-up cardigan with jeans.

He loved working at his brother Gabriel's pastry shop for a number of reasons. The most important being: Cas loved to bake. Baking cookies and pies and all sorts of treats all day long is really rewarding work.

Gabe's Bakery was located on a side street in the heart of downtown. Just a few blocks from all the major sites, the university a couple of miles away, and an airport beyond that. All kinds of customers wandered into the shop every day, and even though Cas was never shy about chatting them up, it's still nice to get some peace and quiet on his walks to the nearest coffee shop.

 _If there's one thing wrong with Gabe's shop, it's the lack of coffee,_ Cas privately thought.

But this nearby café completely makes up for the inconvenience. It's part bookstore and part coffee shop and there's nothing Castiel loves more in this world than curling up with a good book and good coffee. He spends each and every lunch break hidden in some back corner devouring whichever sci-fi novel grabbed his attention in the aisle.

Cas was so lost in thinking about what he wants to order that he didn't truly see the man standing next to him right away, even though this man was the opposite of uninteresting.

He had noticed the man when he was still approaching the intersection. More specifically, Cas had noticed the way the man's faded blue jeans hung straight on bowed legs and clung perfectly to his round ass, had noticed the slope of the man's broad shoulders covered by a red flannel, had noticed the dirty blonde hair styled effortlessly on top of the man's head. Cas had self-consciously adjusted his cap, knowing it was only making his average bedhead even worse, but continued to shamelessly ogle the beautiful man to his right as he dreamed of the hot mocha he was ready to order.

And then the man shivered.

Not like a sexy shiver, but a real shiver. The one that means you're really cold.

And that's when Cas noticed that the flannel shirt was the man's outermost layer, simply buttoned up over a black v-neck. The man's hands were stuffed in his front pockets and his head was tilted down like he was trying to shrink into his own chest to conserve heat. The tips of his ears were bright red, and Cas suspected his nose would be the same.

"Hey," Cas blurted suddenly, not really thinking through what he was going to do next. The man started at the sound of Cas's voice, and then raised his face slightly to meet Cas's eyes.

He'd never seen eyes so green.

"Hi," the stranger replied quietly, white air tumbling from his lips as he huffed a laugh. "What's up?"

"I—. You're—." Cas prided himself on being able to make small talk with any customer, no matter how rude or inconsiderate or whatever they might be. Something about the way those eyes flickered all over his face and shoulders made his brain get fuzzy. And the way the man smirked at him, one side of his mouth higher than the other, was downright adorable.

But Cas could see the way his arms and chest were shaking, ever so slightly, like there was no way this guy would admit to feeling miserable right now even though he had to be freezing out here. It was approaching noon but it was only forty degrees and in the shade, it felt colder.

Without another moment of hesitation, Cas (very ungracefully) unwound the scarf from his own neck before taking a step closer to the freezing stranger next to him. Cas stood in front of him and wrapped the long, thick scarf a few times around the man's neck before moving the ends to cover his shoulders.

And if Cas let his hands linger on what felt like very firm biceps for longer than absolutely necessary, no one had to know.

Big green eyes blinked once, twice at him before the man's cheeks turned as pink as his ears. Cas had been correct about his nose, too.

"Uh, thanks, man." He smiled and Cas put his own hands into the pockets of his hoodie, not wanting to make a fool of himself by reaching out again. This was probably the part where he should say something devastatingly clever and flirtatious.

"You appear to be unprepared for this cold weather, so, here's my scarf."

_Oh yes, spot on, Castiel, babbling will definitely get you in this guy's pants._

But surprisingly, this perfect stranger reached his hand into the space between their chests and said, "I'm Dean. Thank you."

"Cas," he replied, his smile echoing Dean's.

And then the WALK signal appeared, meaning that a horde of people was suddenly moving across the street and pushed Dean forward into Cas.

Cas immediately put his hands up, catching Dean before either of them could fall over, his head spinning at the feeling of all this solid muscle against him. Dean's hands were slower to move from his pockets, and they ended up on Cas's hips in an attempt to balance. It felt like Cas had been electrocuted, all brain function ceasing and all sensory perception focused on the pressure of Dean's hands. He could feel how cold they were through the fabric.

The two men looked at each other for a few seconds before Cas stepped backward and mumbled an apology, already regretting this entire interaction. Since when did he get so flustered around strangers?

Oh, yeah, when the stranger happened to be the most beautiful person Cas has ever seen in his twenty-six years of life.

But Dean didn't look quite as embarrassed as Cas felt, not letting Cas back away more than a few steps.

"We should cross now or we'll miss the signal." Dean's voice was like whiskey hitting Cas right in the gut. Cas nodded mutely before turning on his heel to give himself a chance to think without having to look at Dean's handsome face. He'd been close enough to see the dark hairs around his jaw and perfect mouth, and that had woken up Little Cas more than was appropriate on a busy street corner.

On the other side of the street, Cas turned to see if Dean was still behind him and—

_Oh my God, he was looking at my ass!_

When Dean realized he'd been caught, he blushed again and Cas felt a little weak in the knees, but he just grinned at the beautiful man standing next to him once more.

"I was on my way to coffee if you—. Wait, I mean, I'm going to coffee at the—. Damn it." Cas squeezed his eyes shut, willing the sidewalk to swallow him up. But a hand on his arm made him open them to squint at Dean, who was smiling at him with perfect white teeth.

"I'd love to get coffee with you, Cas."

And that's how Cas skipped the rest of his shift at the bakery by sitting in his favorite coffee shop with Dean Winchester, who just moved yesterday from Dallas and was, in fact, completely unprepared for the cool fall weather. They drank mochas and discussed politics and brothers and music until after the sun set. The two moved down the street again to a diner where they devoured burgers and fries and ordered pumpkin pie for dessert.

Outside again in the cold with Dean's number in his cell phone, Cas assured him that he could keep the scarf until their next date.

And when Cas grabbed Dean by that scarf and pulled him in for a kiss, he could taste the sweet whipped cream on his smiling lips.

**Author's Note:**

> [on tumblr](http://profound-boning.tumblr.com/post/134867268669/)


End file.
